Isabella Giovanni
"A black night, with a shining moon hidden in it's bleak skies..." ''-Blankslate '''Isabella Giovanni' (イサベラ ジュバニ, Isabera Jubani) is an Arrancar, and currently the personal agent of Stern Ritter "S", Asumu Godai. Once a Numeros serving under one of the former Espada, she had been lost in a mission to a distant part of Hueco Mundo, and was later taken by Vandenreich soldiers and placed under experimentation to give her partial Quincy abilities. She was assigned to be Asumu's personal Arrancar, to assist him whenever he requires it. Appearance Isabella is a very recognizable individual in the eyes of most, as she heavily resembles the former Cuarta Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer in most every aspect. Whether or not this implies a relation between the two is unknown, though many other individuals assert as much. Her skin is as pale as a cloud, carrying several green markings all along it on various parts of her body, most of which are concealed by her clothing. She has long, messy black hair that extends down to just below her upper back, unkempt and mostly untampered with. Her eyes are emerald green, with green tear like markings going down them and giving others the impression that she is always crying from the sadness that plagues her. Her Hollow hole is located directly under her throat, in the center of her chest, another trait that she shares with Ulquiorra. The remnants of her Hollow mask are, in essence, a smaller variation of Ulquiorra's. It resembles a partial helmet with a small, backwards facing horn on it's left side. Her Zanpakuto is sheathed directly on her left hip, as most others are. Her attire consists of a white jacket with a long backside, extending into two thin torn and ragged ends, a black vest-like undershirt, and a typical Arrancar robe around her waist and extending down to her ankles, along with black socks with white sandals. Personality History Isabella isn't a naturally created Arrancar, and therefore cannot remember anything about her life as a human. She was brought into Hueco Mundo at a very young age along with her older brother, Marcus Giovanni. The two found themselves being their only company, wandering around Hueco Mundo endlessly in search of some form of solace or company. During this time, the young Isabella was always forced to either flee or hide from other Hollows or Arrancar while her brother would fight them off and keep her safe. This built up a much closer bond and trust between the two Arrancar siblings, but it also sparked Isabella's own desire to become stronger, so that she wouldn't always have to rely on Marcus in order to keep herself safe. Marcus decided to train her after another few years, showing her the basics of fighting with a Zanpakuto, mastering the use of Cero, Pesquisa, and other Arrancar abilities. Soon though, both siblings found themselves being recruited by Sosuke Aizen, the latter having promised them that they would both be safe under his wing, as well as given more power to achieve their respective goal; to protect one another. Marcus was put under the service of Barragarn Louisenbairn, and Isabella was assigned to the newly recruited Tier Harribel, working alongside her Tres Bestias, all of whom Isabella was able to acquaint herself with rather easily. She especially came to admire Tier Harribel as a hero due to having great power and the willingness to protect her subordinates like her brother did to her. Under Aizen's service, Isabella believed that she would be truly happy with the life that she had. Tragedy struck soon afterwords, however, as news had reached Isabella from Ggio Vega that the Segunda Espada had killed her brother due to the latter's apparent defection. Confused and heartbroken, Isabella became a husk of her former self; she had little to no motivation or drive to serve under her Fraccion-comrades, who did their best to cheer her up, but to no avail. The grief being far too much for her to bear, she couldn't bring herself to fight under Aizen's army any longer. Speaking with Harribel one night, alone, she told the Tres Espada that she would not be a worthy subordinate in such a pitiful state, and as such, had no right to serve under her. Against the Espada's advice, but with her blessing, Isabella left Las Noches to find her own calling. Years passed, and by that point, Isabella had recovered her drive to keep fighting in her brother's name. But when she had returned to Las Noches, she found that it had been overtaken by Vandenreich forces. Knowing from the start that her attempts to fight the Quincy would be futile, she decided to fall back and try to at least widdle some of their defenses from the outside, just enough to free her Tres Bestia comrades from captivity. But before her plan could be enacted, Vandenreich troopers, led by Asumu Godai, managed to capture and subdue her. Seeing that the young Arrancar had potential, he requested to his King, Juhabach, that Isabella be placed under one of the experimental procedures to give Arrancar Quincy powers. Having this approved, Isabella was put under special examinations and procedures and was given the powers of a Quincy, before being assigned as Asumu Godai's personal agent. To this day, she looks for a chance to escape Asumu's reach, and find her comrades once more. Powers and Abilities Despite at one point being a Numeros, later Fraccion level Arrancar in her youth, Isabella's own power has increased to the point to where it can rival that of a mid-class Espada. With training from both her brother, a well respected warrior in his own right, and the former Tres Espada herself, she has proven that she is quite a capable opponent as an Arrancar on her own. However, thanks to her Quincy abilities, her power has been furthered to even greater heights than before, making her a true force to be reckoned with. Natural Abilities Great Spiritual Pressure: '''Arrancars naturally carry great amount of Spiritual Energy, at least, the ones under Aizen's employ do. To this, Isabella is hardly an exception. As a Fraccion, her Spiritual Pressure was comparable, if not a little bit higher than the Tres Besitas that she fought alongside, making her at least Vice Captain level around that time. However, when she left on her sojourn away from Las Noches, she set into increasing her own power as much as possible, via fighting and destroying enemy Arrancar and Hollows. Slowly, and progressively, she was able to bring her power up to where it could match the likes of her Espada superiors, seeing herself to be an equal of one belonging to Grimmjow's calibur. Her cyan-green colored Spiritual Pressure gives off a feeling and sensation that one's body is being drenched in a soothe, and yet foreboding water, causing them to feel oddly at peace if not for just a few seconds, before the unavoidable sense of dread and anxiety comes over them and shakes their resolve to do battle with her. '''Master Swordsmanship Specialist: '''Fighting with one's blade is the key to survival in the harsh realm of Hueco Mundo. The difference between life and death is as thin as the sharpest blade's edge, always waiting around the next corner, and severing your life before you even have a chance to comprehend what had happened. This is the philosophy that Isabella lives by, and her skill with using the sword is all the evidence of that that one needs. With dexterity and grace that could make a swan look like a football player, Isabella's swordsmanship skill allows her to cut down a foe as if they were paper, striking with such speed and precision, one would swear that her sword practically turns into air when swung. The secret to this fighting style is that Isabella is constantly focused on her foe, always watching them, listening to them, waiting for them to make themselves open for a flurry of attacks. Due to such focus being put onto the movements of her enemy, she isn't very skilled at fighting more than one enemy at a time, as doing so derails her train of thought, and prevents her from adapting well. Her primary fighting style seems to mirror that of Kendo, gripping the handle of her Zanpakuto with both hands, and therefore allowing more power to be put into all of her attacks. Rarely does she use the sword in one hand, as she has stated before that her grip on her sword isn't all that good when she isn't using both hands. '''Highly Perceptive/Intellectual Combatant: '''In accordance with her sword fighting, Isabella maintains a very keen eye and high perception when fighting a foe. Those emerald eyes of hers might as well be motion trackers; virtually nothing that she sees can escape her senses, they are all within her range of feeling. How the opponent moves, expresses themselves, speaks and makes contact with her, are all taken into her consideration as they do battle. If the opponent uses a spell or special attack on her, all it takes is one of said attack for her to properly deduce how it functions, and how it can be countered. Strategies used against her must be varied and carefully planned, as using one type of attack on her will quickly lose effectiveness; she is a master at killing repetition during battle. Along with such keen awareness and perception, Isabella has a very acute level of intelligence, serving as a very capable tactician and strategist during high profile assignments. Arrancar Abilities '''Cero (虚閃 (セロ), Sero; Spanish for "Zero", Japanese for "Hollow Flash") As is customary with all Arrancar and beings of Hollow origin, Isabella is capable of firing a very powerful, aqua colored Cero from her hands, fingers, or from her sword. A single blast from her is capable of utterly destroying an entire building, and keep going until it wears itself out. She demonstrates an unheard of level of control over her Cero, making it to where each blast causes some form of damage to her opponent regardless of their abilities. She prefers to fire the blast from her Zanpakuto, as doing so makes it to where she can continue to use the sword in her desired manner. However, if need be, she can unleash the potent energy wave from either of her hands if her Zanpakuto is not available. She also has a unique way of firing the Cero from her sword that no other Arrancar has utilized before. By gathering the energy into her blade, Isabella spins herself around in a graceful manner, leaving the blade extended outwards and unleashing the Cero in a massive circular wave that damages all around her, as well as shields herself from oncoming attacks. *'Bala '(虚弾 (バラ), bara; Spanish for "Bullet", Japanese for "Hollow Bullet"): An Arrancar exclusive technique that is a much faster and more mobile alternative to the widely popular Cero. Bala involves the Arrancar in question hardening their Spiritual Pressure down to a single point, and then releasing it in a small, fast-moving ball of energy. While it appears weak, and it is indeed weaker than that of an actual Cero, these small spheres are not to be underestimated. They are fast enough to strike an opponent before they can even react, and despite not carrying as much power-weight as a Cero, they are more capable of piercing an opponent's defenses. Isabella's Bala attacks are light green, like her Cero, and she fires them from her left hand, though she sometimes can release an entire barrage of Bala from one of her sword swings. Pesquisa (探査回路 (ペスキス), Pesukisa; Spanish for "Inquiry", Japanese for "Probe Circuit"): Pesquisa is the Arrancar's means of gauging nearby Spiritual energies, allowing them to tell how many opponents are within their area, as well as confirm how much Spiritual Pressure a single target or more might have. Isabella especially excells in this sort of technique, moreso than that of other Arrancar. Her control over her own Spiritual Pressure is so well tuned, she can feel the presence of any entity around her within a two mile radius, as well as accurately gauge how strong each of these beings are. Though, if there are an excess of them, this can cause her senses to wear down from all the sensoring. Her Pesquisa is so advanced, he is capable of deciphering the Spiritual Pressure of her opponent with just a look. Her eyes briefly flash a bright green glow when she does this, and she is capable of easily ranking their strength, seeing if they truly are powerful enough to pose a worthy challenge to her or not. It is with this said that Isabella can also tell how much her opponent's Spiritual Pressure increases over the course of a battle, almost with as little effort as her initial estimates. Hierro (鋼皮 (イエロ), Iero; Spanish for "Iron", Japanese for "Steel Skin") Arrancar are a race known to excel in defensive measures, thanks to Hierro. This advanced technique condenses an Arrancar's spiritual energy down into their skin, making it to where their endurance is almost nightmarish. Quincy Abilities Zanpakuto Arpía '(悪魔の翼の遊女 Spanish, lit; ''"Harpy" ''Japanese for ''"Demon Winged Harlot"): Like with all other Arrancar, Isabella carries a Zanpakuto with her that acts primarily as the nuclei for her powers, while also serving as a potent weapon to use against her foes. In it's sealed form, Arpía resembles a fairly long katana with a straight blade, as well as a green handle and a guard that is shaped like some form of eye, with two curving protusions on both of it's ends. She keeps it sheathed on her left hip at all times. * '''Resurrección: Arpía is released by the command '"Pour into" '(精魂を込める Seikonwokomeru). Upon muttering the command, Arpía's entire form shatters into a torrent of black crow feathers that quickly surround and encompass Isabella's entire body. They swirl around her like a storm, leaving her form completely unseeable for the first few seconds of the Release. Slowly, the feathers all begin to form into a more human-like shape, and then completely shatter away to reveal Isabella's true form: Her clothing has completely disappeared, going in favor of a more animalistic garbing. From her breasts down to her waist, her body is covered in black fur that ends in a short garb, of which reveals a small part of her thighs. Her legs are also covered in black fur, with her feet resembling that of a predator's. Her arms carry this same trait, being covered in black fur from just above her elbows down to her hands, the latter of which being more claw like as well. From her lower back emerges a long tail with a spear tipped end, similar to a demon's own tail. She grows two long horns on her head, and her eyes now become black instead of white. Finally, she sprouts two long, demon like wings on her back that grant her flight. Spirit Weapon Trivia *Her theme song is "Stranger I Remain" by Maniac Agenda. *Credit for her artwork belongs to her respective artist, whoever they may be.